Szechuan peppercorns on the nose, something quite spiced, maybe woody, with fragrant blackcurrants too. Sleek and streamlined, tangy and vibrant but with some tension that shuts down some of the fruity enjoyment. I like...

Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 La Mission Haut-Brion needs a swirl or two to unlock notes of blackberry pie, creme de cassis, and espresso plus nuances of truffle, tapenade, and fragrant soil. The medium to...

The 2014 Clinet is rich and round but slightly more refined than the 2012, which is arguably its qualitative peer. Lots of black cherry fruit but with that beautiful elegant Pomerol charm. Plush and plump and will age...

Aged in oak for 18 months, the 2014 Cavalli is a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller parts Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This is a darkly extracted and contemporary wine that delivers ample muscle and power...

The 2014 Branaire-Ducru has a "quieter" bouquet than its peers, a little muted at first, though well-defined with mainly black tertiary fruit laced with tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. It's a...

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard, blended with 12% Petit Verdot, is aging gracefully and just beginning to soften at the edges. The nose is woodsy and spicy with porcini powder, aniseed and new leather aromas...

Opaque ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes red/blue fruit preserves, candied flowers and Asian spices, along with a smoky mineral overtone that gains in volume as the wine opens up. Impressively concentrated yet lively...

A 100% varietal and estate-grown wine from the site made famous in the Paris Tasting, this offers yeasty brioche aromas that lead to crisp expansive flavors of cassis and red currant. The oak is supportive and integrated...

The 2014 Faugeres still has bundles of red plum and juniper berry on the nose, if anything even more generous than when I tasted it a few months ago. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, superb structure and well...

Ripe and racy, with a lovely core of cassis, plum and blackberry confiture notes, laced with graphite details. Vivid from start to finish, delivering a sense of polish that makes it approachable already, though there's no...

The 2014 Plince opens in the glass with a seductive medley of concentrated red and blue fruit. This yields to undertones of dry violets, cedar and sweet tobacco before concluding with mineral and dry earth notes...

The 2014 Poesia feels more Merlot-driven on the nose compared to the 2013. There is more red fruit here with crushed strawberry, bing cherry, blueberry and violet aromas. This coalesces in the glass, becoming more and...

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Fonplegade waltzes out with showy notes of kirsch, blackberry preserves, and rosebud tea with hints of leather sofa and star anise. The medium-bodied palate is plush and...

The 2014 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet in color. It is a little closed on the nose to begin, needing some coaxing to bring out evocative scents of dusty soil, iron ore, and mossy tree bark, leading to...

Brilliant red. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes candied red and dark berries, incense, vanilla and smoky Indian spices. Sweet and seamless in texture, offering concentrated black raspberry, boysenberry, spicecake...

The 2014 Vosne villages from the Mugnerets is also very red fruity this year, wafting from the glass in a lovely nose of raspberries, cherries, Vosne spice tones, a lovely base of soil and a touch of cedary wood. On the...

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 d'Armailhac rolls out with evocative notes of cassis, plum preserves, and menthol opening out to nuances of rosebud tea, underbrush, and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied...

Intensely aromatic nose, floral and lifted but deep and dark too. Ripe and fully flavoured, if not weighty and plush. This has concentration and a feeling of power and kick underneath the bright red cherry fruit and salty...

The 2014 Château de Fieuzal has a high-toned nose with a little more VA than its peers. It's lush and gains harmony with time in the glass, dried black cherries mixed with raisin and fig. The palate is medium-bodied with...

The 2014 Vray Croix de Gay has an almost timid bouquet at first, and it necessitates coaxing it out from the glass, because there are certainly some pretty red berry fruit here, laced with black truffle and smoky scents...

From grapes picked in the Le Leon area, a single-plot vineyard covering 2.5 hectares, the 2014 Le Léon extra brut from Philipponnat has a gorgeous, fresh bouquet with aromas of white pepper, spring flowers, red berries...

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, Ghislaine Barthod's 2014 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Cras has a slightly leathery, animally bouquet, but behind that is plenty of gutsy red fruit laced with pressed flowers...

The 2014 Branaire-Ducru has a "quieter" bouquet than its peers, a little muted at first, though well-defined with mainly black tertiary fruit laced with tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. It's a...

Darker cherries, tobacco, and white truffle notes define the 2014 Château Bellevue. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced on the palate, it has a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel and solid depth. This ripe, textured, and...

Juicy, with a light briary spine cutting through the mix of cherry, currant and plum fruit flavors. Notes of singed spice and black tea show on the slightly toasted finish. Best from 2018 through 2023. 60 cases imported.

Young and structured, with fine tannins are are fully in control, this remains pretty serious in its construction as it ticks on towards the 10 year mark. Black cherry and damson fruit, orange zest, pomegranate, slate...

This wine is dense, although you hardly notice the tannins for the weight of concentrated fruit. The tannins are there, though, a power to thrust this immense wine well into the future. It is well formed, firm while rich...